Marines putting 155mm howitzers back into maritime prepositioning
Marines have been using 155mm howitzers in expeditionary warfare in remote places since at least Guadalcanal.
A 155mm howitzer is fired by artillery crewmen of the 11th Marines at Guadalcanal
Back in 2005, the Marines replaced their venerable M198 155mm towed howitzer, which had been in service since the 1970s, with the new M777. While both were 15mm L39 guns (6.1″/39), the M777 only weighed 9,300 pounds (as opposed to 15,300) and had both lower manpower requirements and superior electronics (digital fire control).
The Marines bought 580 of the new guns, a purchase larger even than the Army, which used them in its light/airborne infantry divisions. The Marines used them in 21 active and 12 reserve artillery batteries (with six howitzers each) with the “extra” 375~ guns allocated for training, wartime spares, and prepositioning stocks both ashore, such as in Norway (MCPP-N), and afloat.
A U.S. Marine with the 2nd Marine Division cleans an M777 prior to staging it in a Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway cave facility. The Marines have used Norwegian storage facilities since 1981. 160705-M-IU187-013
Well, with the large-scale divestment efforts that began in late 2019 as part of Force Design 2030 to transition the Corps to a leaner organization, the Marines ditched all its 450 M-1 Abrams, all its AN/TPS-59 radar sets, all its M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles, M88A2 Recovery Vehicles, and Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges, et.al, ad nauseum.
Also trimmed back to the ground were the M777s, with the number of active batteries sliced from 21 to 5 (or maybe 7) and from 12 reserve to (maybe) 8. Likewise, pulled from the prepositioning stocks, along with the tanks, bridges, radars, and recovery vehicles, were the howitzers.
Notably, since then, some 200 M777s were provided to Ukraine from U.S. stocks along with more than 3 million shells.
Well, with the continued hard use of the M777 in that conflict, soaking Russian lines with upwards of 5,000 shells daily, and a high-profile deployment of a Marine 155 unit to Syria that was so busy it burned out two barrels, it seems someone has decided maybe storing some nice shiny howitzers on forward deployed cargo ships for a rainy day is a good idea.
This from Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island (Jacksonville) PAO:
U.S. service members, government civilians, and defense contractors backloaded M777 howitzers aboard the USNS Pililaau (T-AKR 304) on Aug. 19 at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Florida, marking the artillery system’s return to maritime prepositioning with the latest maintenance cycle.
An M777 howitzer is towed aboard the USNS Pililaau during backload operations Aug. 19, 2025, at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Florida. The return of howitzers to maritime prepositioning, along with new innovations such as a recoil exerciser, strengthens long-term readiness for global contingencies. (Official Marine Corps Photo/Dustin Senger)
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Jeremiah Murray, of Pacific, Missouri, awaits M777 howitzers as they are placed into the holds of the USNS Pililaau during backload operations Aug. 19, 2025, at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island in Florida. An embarkation specialist with Blount Island Command, Murray worked alongside defense contractors to return howitzers to maritime prepositioning in the latest maintenance cycle. (Official Marine Corps Photo/Dustin Senger)
The USNS Pililaau is the first vessel in the latest rotation, a process of offloading, inventorying, maintaining, and modernizing equipment and supplies aboard maritime prepositioning ships. Each rotation ensures cargo ships, operated by Military Sealift Command, carry combat-ready gear for global contingencies.
Along with the return of howitzers to maritime prepositioning, the cycle introduces a newly fielded recoil exerciser designed to preserve large-caliber artillery in long-term storage. Using a winch-driven pulley, the system replicates a full recoil stroke, improving lubrication and maintaining operational reliability.
Maybe someone is waking up.